The present invention relates to a small boat or water-borne vehicle, particularly of the jet propulsion type. This is a recreational type of boat that is designed for use by one person, and it is frequently operated at high speed and in sharp turns, and as a result it often overturns.
As shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, a conventional boat of this type includes a hull 1 and an enclosed engine room 4 at the forward end of the boat, which is closed by a cover 3. The engine room thus forms a float or buoyant body adjacent the bow. This float has a center B, see FIG. 1b, of buoyancy at a position which is designed to be as high as possible, and the boat has a center G of gravity at a position which is designed to be as low as possible. This arrangement increases the vertical distance D between these centers B and G on the vertical center line L of the boat. As a result, the float makes the bow stand high in the water, with the result that the boat cannot be designed with a streamlined shape. If a weight or ballast is added to the bottom of the boat, as is done with a larger yacht, the total weight is increased so that the boat is difficult to transport, which is an important factor for a small recreational boat.
It is a general object of this invention to provide a small boat which has a low steamlined bow portion and has a low center of buoyancy, but which can automatically return to the normal upright position quickly after it has been overturned.